Writing for the Article:
Leekah is fully aware of herself and the successes of her career but not her image. Rumours have spread from club-hopping rude girl to tattoos with three different meanings, this newly-turned 20 year old is ready for her new album to drop and for her name to be cleared.
The difference between Leekah’s reputation and reality is immense. Aside from all of the music, success and headlines, Leekah is truly herself. Anyone could connect with her and everything she stands for. Throughout the interview process and the article as a whole, you are getting an insight to the genuine, stripped back version of Leekah. She’s been through things everyone can relate to; dysfunctional relationships, revealed secrets and all in the eye of the public. Despite all of this she has managed to keep most of her life private and away from tabloids. Leekah spoke about how it would be fun to live her reputation, she says: “If I were to stop and think about all of the rumours for just a second… I think I'd drive myself mad.”
When we meet, Leekah and I share an equal level of excitement, even though I was trying to avoid showing my eagerness around her. The photoshoot took place in the heart of North London, where she grew up. Her face constantly oozed with reminiscence, the entire crew could tell she had great memories of that place. She was wearing her signature Justin Bieber-esque oversized, yet feminine t-shirt with leggings and a pair of Nikes. We walked around Alexandra Palace more times than I could count, just talking and laughing about the ‘gossip’ surrounding her lately. We finally sat down for lunch and when she ordered three Hot Dogs, I couldn't help but ask her how she maintained such a slim figure, “I have to work out everyday because I could never give up food for the industry…” The 20 year-old sitting next to me was not the immature adolescent she is constantly made out to be, nor was she a bottle-throwing nightclub enthusiast. Instead she is elegant, strong, funny and beautiful on the inside and out. When speaking of the thing she feared most, ‘rumours’, we were able to laugh and view each statement differently. I asked her what she thought was the worst rumour she had heard; “100% the one where the papers said I'd been thrown out of a club for fighting”. Both her and I looked puzzled. Leekah understood my confusion “I know! Imagine me… fighting? I'm 5”1 and weak as hell, imagine me wanting to fight someone,” she says, “I woke up the next morning to floods of emails and phone calls from my team asking what had happened, when I finally found a newspaper I realised why they reacted the way they did.” She went on to blame the picture for how bad it had looked, she protested that the real story was that she was celebrating the new album being finished and instead of a quiet celebration it quickly gained status.
I mentioned another big story surrounding her fame and famous relationships. After huffing and shrugging for a while, I gathered she knew what I was talking about. “Yes,” she sighed, “Me and Jaden were close for a while but the industry makes you get close to anyone in the fear that if he [Jaden] was to be seen with any other girl, my name would be dragged down in relation to cheating rumours. The only reason we stayed just friends is because of fear. If you see me sitting with someone, am I not allowed to do that? Talk to someone other than him, what? It seems like it's illegal to talk to anyone anymore.” She adds, “It’s cool because me and J are still really good friends but we’ve agreed that for ease we wouldn’t hang around as much.” I asked if that element of fear had made her paranoid or more conscious of who she interacts with. "I always see the best in people,” she says. “I hope for the best, and I always look for that little bit of good, that potential, and I wait for it to show. It's important not to judge people too quick in case you have completely misunderstood the person, of course I'm very guarded and protective of myself but I'm always scared that I could block someone out who could eventually be very important to me.”
Does that not lead to loneliness? “It is lonely” she says, “but I have so much work to do that I get distracted. I don’t have time to be lonely. And I get fearful of relationships because I feel guilty about wanting someone to be completely faithful and loyal, when I can’t even give them 10 percent of the attention that they need. It’s just the reality of my time, my life, my schedule.”
Her quick rise to fame is evident in that she went from a deprived ‘bad girl’ at school to topping charts and breaking records. It's clear to everyone how much she has changed in the past year alone, forgetting the struggles she has been through in her early life. Leekah is someone I, myself along with millions of young people look up to.
Find a behind the scenes video of the interview and shoot on the website: [enter website link]
Photography by: Beau Guard
Written by: Emily Hopwood
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